The greatest asset for ICT companies is the minds of their employees. Investing in knowledge development and staff retention is therefore essential, but it has to be aligned with profitability development. ‘The latter is still particularly challenging sometimes,’ says Steffan Wentink, senior manager accountancy at Lentink. ‘Many ICT companies work with fixed contracts and prices, but there is also additional revenue generated by extra service hours or other matters outside of a contract. You need to have a clear understanding of the hours spent in order to determine the actual returns per job or client, and manage your operations accordingly. And that’s what I help ICT entrepreneurs to do.’
Focus on control and security
Naturally, Lentink is able to support ICT companies in other areas as well, including when it comes to complex, sector-specific issues. ‘For example, the customers of ICT companies are increasingly interested in how internal control and security are arranged. We can provide the ISAE 3402 statement necessary to demonstrate that.’
Expertise in acquisitions and valuations
Lentink also has expertise in supervising matters such as purchases by new shareholders or acquisitions of industry peers. ‘This goes beyond simply knowledge about valuations. ICT companies often operate under a group leadership with diverse interests. You also have to be able to manage this effectively in these processes.’